The present invention relates to composite material webs and, more particularly, to a composite web of standard width made by joining a plurality of narrower width trim roll webs without a lateral overlap in the adjacent edges of the trim roll webs.
In the many processes of paper converting, standard width rolls of paper are often slit longitudinally to narrower widths for utilization in the manufacture of products requiring the narrower width paper. For example, a standard 96" (2400 mm) roll may be slit to provide a required 60" (1500 mm) web. This process to provide the required narrower width web leaves a 36" (900 mm) roll which is commonly referred to as a "trim roll". Unless there is a coincident requirement for a product utilizing a web width equal to the trim roll, the trim roll paper has little value and often such rolls are merely recycled. Trim rolls are, therefore, available on the open market at prices significantly below the price of standard width rolls.
Paper is the primary cost item in many if not most items produced in the paper converting industry, such as the manufacture of corrugated paperboard. Therefore, a process for utilizing trim roll paper in any paper converting process would be highly advantageous. However, the difficulty faced in adapting trim roll paper webs to converting processes is that production equipment is typically made to handle standard widths. Also, the availability of trim roll paper web materials is not dependable and it cannot be predicted with any certainty what trim roll widths will be available in a given area at a particular time.
It is known in the prior art to join the webs of two or more trim rolls by joining their adjacent lateral edges with an overlapping splice as shown in prior art FIGS. 1 and 2. Trim roll webs 10 and 11 are positioned with their adjacent edges 12 overlapping. Glue is applied to the adjacent edges in the area of the overlap to provide a longitudinal splice 13. This arrangement produces a web having a double thickness portion at the splice which makes such a web completely unsuitable for most converting operations, including most applications in the production of corrugated paperboard.